


Take Life But Not Faith

by little_coffins



Series: Into the Aoi-verse [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012), 地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga), 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Crack Crossover, Crack Treated Seriously, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24350452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_coffins/pseuds/little_coffins
Summary: 5 times Jack Frost had fun with his first believer, Aoi Akane, and 1 time he decidedly did not.
Relationships: Akane Aoi | Ao-chan & Aoi Akane | Glasses, Jack Frost & Guardians of Childhood
Series: Into the Aoi-verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758073
Kudos: 11





	Take Life But Not Faith

She wasn't really his first believer, because while she could see him, it was not by belief.

1.  
The winter he'd delivered was viscious, not out of malice by the last few winters he'd delivered to Yokohama had been tame, so he thought it best to give a harsher season in return for the kind ones.

The blizzard had been nasty, wind whipping snow that'd no doubt feel like razors across the city folks faces, chasing them in doors to the warmth of their homes.

The area of which he'd been perched within was not the wealthiest, in fact it could be considered the slums. The place was always bustling with working people, moving about their days, children offering candles and flowers for low prices to bring their earnings to their families.

He watched the children who had no homes cuddle up together, attempting to warm each other up with their body masses, hidden under bridges or in alleys. He felt sympathy for them and their plight, so he'd redirected the wind and lightened the heavy snowfall, allowing the homeless children reprieve.

( _Absentmindedly, he noticed the two black haired children he'd consistently seen for years were not among them, and tried to think positively, to avoid the idea that they hadn't made it through these last few years. He hoped they simply escape the streets to a better, kinder life_.)

Now it was early morning, the wind and snow had long since petered off, leaving the city basked in fresh, fluffy snow, a winter wonderland in its purest form. No one had been up and about yet, the streets silent and desolate, completely peaceful, and for a reason unknown, it dredged up a primal feeling of dread within him. Completely animalistic in nature and totally irrational, no one was even around, he was alone in a crumby little park, perched in a tree, alone with only the wind as his soft snow to keep him company.

Frowning, he'd pursed his lips, attempting to look more carefully at his surroundings, trying to find whatever was registering as a threat, staff up at the ready as he leaned more forward.

Nothing...

"Aren't your feet cold?" His head snapped in the direction of the voice, soft and young, sweet like the tinkle of a little copper bell, and found it belonged to a little well dressed girl. Her hair was long, a deep blue with maroon flowers done up in them, the hair looped at the sides, long strands framing her face. She wore a kimono and hakama, a mix of blues and black, completely unlike what the people from this area usually wear, pretty and expensive looking.

Not to mention her choice in outfit was not at all appropriate for the weather, even if the storm had since receded.

He stared at her, dumbfounded, because surely she was not speaking to him. She returned the stare with a smile, crossing her arms and tucking them into her armpits, hunching slightly, but eye contact remaining nonetheless.

He looked around for anyone else that she could be addressing, especially in english, a language not primarily spoken around theses parts.

"Are you... speaking to me?" He asked tentatively, unsurely hoping down and once more passing glances around them, looking for a possible hidden third party she maybe talking to.

"Yes, I'm talking to you. Aren't you cold? You have no shoes on," she hummed, beaming up at him as she stepped toward him, ignoring the way he stepped back cautiously, looking him up and down. She clicked her tongue and shook her head, pinching the fabric between two fingers and tutting lightly.

"There's evening a hole in your coat..." His eyes no doubt resembled saucers in that moment, feeling her poke and prod at him and as she checked his hoodie for more holes. He hadn't felt the touch of a human since... well, ever! Her hands were slightly warm, though not overly so, likely snuffed out by the the chilly weather, and the sensation had him lost for words for a moment.

"You... can see me?" He questioned quietly, a sudden shakiness overwhelming his nerves.

"Of course. Come now, sit, I'll stitch up the holes. You ought not to be running around like that, even if you aren't human." His heart jumped into his throat, staring stunned at the girl who couldn't be older than ten guiding him to be sitting under the tree in the wet, crumbly snow, digging through the pockets of her hakama, hands retreating with a needle as dome white thread.

"You... you know what I am?" He asked, now outright puzzled at this odd interaction, after all what human had any business in supernatural affairs?

"Yes, you're a spirit. A winter spirit, right? The cold probably doesn't bother you, but you shouldn't travel in tatters." The building excitement finally finally escaped, he hopped up and let out an enthusiastic whoop before kneeling before her once more, grabbing her hands in his own, grinning at her.

"You can see me! No human has seen me in over three hundred years! I never thought anyone would! This is insane!" After the blank stupor had fled from her face, she broke out into soft giggles, seemingly amused by the whole thing.

She slipped her hands out from his and began threading the needle, hands slightly shaky from the cold but otherwise unhindered. Tugging at the side, she pulled it close enough to be able to start sewing the holes back together, listening patiently as he chattered and rambled excitedly.

"You're really very happy that I can see you, aren't you?" She asked when he began to relax, watching her work in fixing his shirt.

"Of course! Being alone for so long is really... really boring. No fun at all." He replied earnestly, voice without any bitterness. Knotting the first holes thread, she snapped the thread and prepared to start with the next.

"Is it?" She hummed absently.

"Yeah, but-- but you can see me! And that's great! That-- that's huge! How exactly can you see me, actually?" He asked, watching as she finished the last one, pocketing the thread and needle once more.

"My ability allows me to see what isn't human, this, you by extension." She smiled, tucking her hands beneath her armpits once more and exhaling shakily, breath a bright swirl of steam.

"Your ability?" He'd never heard of such an extensive power wielded by a human, the capability to see _anything_ that isn't human? That's a very broad list of people and things. If she held such a power, then surely would be force to reckon with one day.

"Yes, have you never heard of one? Ah, I thought you were out and about for three hundred some years?" She teased not unkindly, standing up, swiping off the snow from her hakama.

"Well-- I don't hear much about those types of things. Not really my field of expertise." He stood as well, rubbing at his neck sheepishly as he answered. She becomes him forward and began to walk towards the roads, him hot on her trail.

"Abilities aren't new, they've been around for around eight hundred years, though that's a rough estimate. They come in all shapes and sizes, gravity manipulation, super strength, illusions; those types of things. All sorts of shapes and sizes, they come in. Mine happens to be called _Till death do us par_ t, and a certain fascit of my ability is to be able to see and interact with the otherworldly, the other side if you may." She explained softly, and Jack just blinked and nodded, soaking up the information with great interest.

"Wait, so by fascit you mean there's more you can do? Like, that's only part of it?" He inquired, skipping a little ahead, kicking up some of the soft snow ahead, watching it flutter down once more.

"Mm, yes. I'm... for the lack of a better explanation, a doorway, I can enter different supernatural boundaries on my own without permission from the owner of said place, and am able to summon... well, bugs. They are very cute, if you ask me, but most are inclined to disagree." She giggled at the end, and he grinned at her, walking backwards, staff across his neck with his arm resting folded against it.

"Say... I know a guy who _really_ doesn't like bugs, would I be able to employ your help one day in scaring him them? For a rabbit, he really doesn't like his fellow animals," he laughed, and so did she, nodding her head slightly at the proposal, seemingly amused by his line of thought.

"Sure, I'd love to help scare this _rabbit_ , I'm sure he'll be delighted."

"Oh, _definitely_ ," unsurprisingly, they were beginning to exit the slums, head elsewhere, to the more wealthy and put together part of the porting city. Dirty alleyways paved way to tidy suburbs with large, obviously expensive homes.

"This the area you live in?" He asked, studying each house they passed, trying to catch anything of interest, finding it to be a rather boring area.

She nodded, pointing shakily ahead to the largest house on the street, very traditionally japanese, huge barren trees in the yard, a path leading towards the house itself which was a little deeper into the property, making it more private. From all his time wandering the world, spreading winter, he'd seen many types of trees, and he identified even without they leaves or colourful blooms that many were fruit trees, and the chicken wired fence sectioning off a square in the yard was likely a garden in the summer. _Yeah_ , he thought, _this was a lot more interesting then the other homes on the block_.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, stopping him in his tracks, already at the properties gates.

"I never asked your name! My names Jack Frost, you?" He swung the Shepard's crook from behind his head, planting it firmly on the ground on leaning forward on it, fully facing the girl head on.

"My name is Akane Aoi, just call me Aoi, though." Her smile was pleasant, soft and kind in a way that brought a similarly fashioned one to his own face. He noticed, within that smile stood admiration, something that quite surprised him, catching him off guard as to how he managed to earn such a thing so quickly and easily from the girl. But nonetheless, a warmth curled within his chest, pride blooming within him for earning such a thing from her, even if he didn't know how or why he had it.

"Good to meet you, Aoi! Would you mind if I were to, you know, stop in here every once in a while to say hi?" He asked carefully, worrying the previous trust would crumble to bits at the request, that she expected this to only be a one time thing, that she could show him kindness for this one moment and not have to think back on it again it again.

Cutting off his worrying train of that, she beamed up at him, and he was caught off guard by how adorable it was, sweet in such a childish way that filled him with a protective glee at having such an expression turned on him, not one of disdain but enthusiasm.

"Of course! Please do, most of the supernaturals I make contact with aren't as amicable as you--ah, aside from number six-- but please do! I'm always pleased to have company." She fiddled with her hands, but remained confident in her response.

"Oh, what are the others like?" He asked cheerfully, beginning down the walk way through the nice property.

"Most spirits and supernaturals I come across are filled with such rancor, so they don't often want to have nice chats, mostly to scream in my ear," she laughed lightly, and he frowned. He knew the type, the loud, aggressive spirits that held nothing but resentfulness for the hand they were dealt and took it out and all they came across. No doubt that with her ability, she was a prime target of this abuse.

"I get what you mean, I've met the type-- the ones that are so hung up on circumstance they become mean spirited." He spoke grimly, and she nodded softly.

"They don't much bother me, I do believe they used to scare me when I was young, in the bathhouse they used to sit in the corners of the rooms and just scream, sometimes they'd make grabs for me as well. Ah-- the worst however was the mad foreign woman I came across a few years ago at a park, stood so oddly, head tilted upwards and then all of a sudden she was screaming and running at me-- she certainly was not fast, but startling nonetheless." She laughed, face nostalgic despite the dark subject matter.

"Oh... were those ghosts?" He asked curiously, he'd never seen such a thing in his very long lifetime.

"Yeah," she confirmed, and he nodded in response.

"Can't see ghosts, their too blurred, too close to the other side for me to spot, but I guess you can." He hummed.

"Yeah, they're everywhere, always. People die constantly, so the streets are nearly filled with them, on the way here we passed a woman without legs, in fact!" Had her cheeriness not been so infections, he'd have been slightly worried about her nonchalance about something so gruesome in nature.

"That must be scary, seeing that stuff." He commented, hopping onto the deck, poking his staff against the windows, watching the frosty ferns crawl across the panes, painting a lovely, intricate picture. She peered out fron behind him, watching the designs travels with silent awe, admiring the artwork.

"Your frost is very pretty." She mused quietly, absentmindedly clutching his jacket as she watched.

Jack looked behind himself, catching her gaze and grinning brightly, giving a cheerful "thanks!" in response.

Shuffling to the door, she fiddled with her keys in the lock, her hands obviously stiff and numb, making them less coordinated, causing her to fumble the entire time.

He felt kinda bad about that, knowing it was his fault.

Finally, the lock clicked and the door fell open, and she turned to face him, expression sweet once more.

"Thank you for talking to me, Jack. I hope we can do so again soon." Her lips upturned kindly, she gave a slight wave at his own goodbyes, watching him begin to take to the skies, hovered a meter or so above her, his waving enthusiastic.

The two parted on pleasant terms that night, the warm buzz of happiness filling their chests from kind interactions, the first of many no doubt.

Now, to start planning the bug prank... that will certainly be a sight to see.

**Author's Note:**

> Adding to the Aoi-verse. Theres gonna be a while lot of crossovers revolving around Aoi from me in the future Because I Love Her. The first part is titled Momento Mori, and is Bungou Stray Dogs/Toilet-bound.


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